Andre Ethier is Not Retiring, Apparently

The longest tenured Dodger Andre Ethier is not going to retire despite initial reports. Ethier has been a Dodger for the last 12 seasons spending his entire career in Los Angeles. His contract expired after the end of the 2017 season and the Dodgers decided not to pick up his 17.5 million dollar club option instead deciding to buy him out of his contract for 2.5 million dollars.

The 35-year old veteran’s five-year 85 million dollar contract ran through the end of the 2017 season. The Dodgers inked Ethier to that big contract back in 2012. Ethier broke the record for most postseason games played in Dodgers history this year with 51 playoff game appearances.

Andre Ethier said reports that he's retiring are "totally untrue." Teams have already shown interest, he said his back is healthy and he's preparing to play in 2018.

Ethier has been riddled with injuries over the last couple of seasons battling a broken leg and back problems. Ethier played in just 16 games in 2016 and 22 in 2017. He batted .235 (8 for 34) with 2 home runs and three runs batted in while garnering 38 plate appearances last season.

There were initial reports that Ethier had told his family and friends that he was considering retiring. However Ken Gurnick reported that those reports were not true and that Ethier intends to play in 2018. Whether that’s with the Dodgers or with another club remains to be seen.

When all is said and done Ethier finished his Dodger career with a slash line of .285/.359/.463 with 162 home runs and an .822 OPS in 12 big league seasons. He scored 641 runs and knocked in 687 runs. Dre was selected to two all-star games and also won a gold glove (2011) and a silver slugger in 2009.

Ethier’s final at-bat was a pinch-hit RBI single in game 7 of the 2017 World Series. Ethier was 2 for 5 in the World Series and also hit a home run in the NLCS. He has a .246 (31 for 126) career postseason batting average with 5 home runs and 11 runs batted in. He’s collected 145 career postseason plate appearances all with the Dodgers.

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71 thoughts on “Andre Ethier is Not Retiring, Apparently”

What do the fans think? Do we extend an offer to him for LF or backup Lf/outfield duties? How much would be reasonable?

Ethier has been a loyal and effective player. Would you rather have him or Kike at LF? Toles? Anyone else? It’s a position that is open for the right player. I’m assuming Taylor will be in CF and Puig in RF. I don’t like this platooning business. Of course, if a good fielder cannot hit certain pitchers, it’s always good to have someone who can. Opinions?

Badger, Well, I’ll be darned, this whole time I thought you would just flip a coin? I know you are right but man I sure hate to see Stanton in Frisco. I hate platoons too. I am glad you showed your work.

The Dodgers have the cashflow and prospects to handle the deal. The question is if they want to…

For further color, from Morosi:

Sources: Some teams pursuing Giancarlo Stanton believe the Dodgers are his first choice, and that he will be reluctant to approve other destinations until there is clarity with LA. The Dodgers and Marlins have had contact regarding Giancarlo Stanton trade concepts, but talks have failed to progress so far; STLCards and SFGiants showing more sustained interest.

MJ
I think Darvish would give a hometown discount and even though he performed poorly in the post season, I think he would be a good reasonable pickup. I think Asian players are very loyal and he is no different. Good for FBZ. We shall see.

I’d welcome him back. I figure anybody we get will not be asked to start 30 and go 200 innings. Darvish could be a 25 start 150 inning 3.7 WAR stud. I wonder if he will sign a 4 year $16mm per contract. Could be a sticking point.

Well the next couple of weeks will clarify a lot of things. As for Ethier, there is really no spot for Andre on this team. I also do not understand FAZ’s love affair with Kike Hernandez. Me, I trade the guy. There is plenty of outfield depth on the roster and guys in AAA who are close to being ready. One name that has not been brought up is Henry Ramos who is a switch hitter and after he got over the injury he suffered in spring, the guy put up very good numbers at both AAA and AA. He can play all 3 outfield positions. So throw his name into the mix. I wish Andre well and hope he lands somewhere that he gets some playing time.

Well the post season shares were announced. The Dodgers gave out 68 full shares which came to a little over 259 thousand dollars apiece. The Astros full shares were a little over 400 thousand. The first free agent signed. Doug Fister on a one year deal to the Rangers. Stanton restated his desire to become a Dodger, but also gave the Marlins a list of other teams he would consider a trade to.

Story on espn.com says that there is a possibility that Stanton will be dealt before the meetings begin on December 10th. They also had a list of players who need to be traded for their own good. Longoria was on the list as was Miggy. Neither will be Dodgers that is pretty much a given.

Hey Artie, just noticed your response to Dodger mark. To be honest I haven’t heard an announcement by the Dodgers either, but am assuming first base is AGon’s job to lose.

In a private conversation with a former poster we talked about what could be done with AGon and his $22mm salary that would be beneficial to multiple parties. One scenario that came up was he could be offered a future job with the Dodgers if he agrees to make a move to help the club in ‘18. Example: Tampa is talking a rebuild and needs a first baseman. AGon goes there, we pay most, or all of his salary, and it becomes part of a deal for Archer, or more likely Odorizzi. If Gonzalez is healthy he could be a valued deadline piece that would net Tampa more prospects. I have no idea who we might send with him, didn’t get that far in discussion but we have a few lower arms Tampa would be interested in. My guess would be a PTBNL would be involved along with a lower named player. Much would depend on how Gonzalez hits from April to July. The basis of a move like this of course is we have to pay Gonzalez no matter what so why not get creative? We don’t really need him anymore, he knows it, but if he heals up over the winter somebody could use him. And if we are paying for it…….

Anyway, a lot of chatter with no corpus verum. It’s what happens this time of year.

Hate to break to you guys, but I think the FBZ will get totally outbid on Darvish, Morrow and Stanton. I think it’s equally likely Ohtani pitches here than us landing any of the above. Morrow is going to get a 2-3 year closer offer at $10 million per year, at least, Darvish will get a $100m deal, several teams will end up offering low level prospects of international slots for Stanton without taking back salary. The FBZ will not likely outbid anyone. They actually like being outbid because they were given a winning team and they would rather wait out a prospect than not. (But someone should remind them, in most cases there is a diminishing return on prospects’ stock once the prospects hits AAA and MLB … MLB history is filled with Swanson’s, Pedersons, De Leon’s, Alvarez’s and, dare I say it, Uria’s.

I’m inclined to agree with you but allow me to give a counter argument on that proffer………..

give me a moment….. I’m working on it……

They have actually given up top prospects to land players they thought would make a difference. They gave up two to Cincinnati that became starters and they gave up 3 to Oakland, two of whom are playing in the Majors. I believe Stumps Calhoun will also become a solid Major League hitter. So, clearly they are willing to give up Major League talent. Projections show that Stanton will indeed earn his contract, even through the $30mm years. I don’t know that the FAZgorithms say the same thing, but if they do there is hope we keep him from going to SF, where its projected he will put up about 18 WAR over the next 3 years and make everybody in that lineup better. As for Darvish, I think we can forget it. As mentioned yesterday, MLB Rumors suggests somebody might go as high as $160mm for him. Our nerds won’t do that. I’m still thinking, hoping really, that they will work their FAZmagic on an under 30 arm that will step in behind Kershaw and work 150 innings of 3.5 WAR and allow the rest of that aging rotation to continue taking 10 day vacations throughout the year. Hard to believe I’m saying that but it looks like 175 is new 200 when it comes to starters IP. We need 6-8 guys capable of 135-150. I see 3, maybe, after Kershaw. More thunder in our lineup would of course alleviate some of that pressure, but as everyone on our staff gets older, we will need replacement parts. If not Darvish, who? And if no Stanton in LA, what coastal town does he end up in?

My counter to you, Badger, is that they weren’t really bidding against anyone. One could argue Darvish was a bidding victory but I think teams were generally spooked how bad he was in the first half, especially ahead of the trade deadline. I don’t think they can win a real bidding war and several other FOs are just as smart as the FBZ.

Personally I’d rather wait a year or two on Stanton. I don’t think he gets traded this year. I think we get Stanton after Puig becomes a FA.

I think Hunter is decent. But I’d rather have Minor. We need lefties against the Nationals. I think the FBZ will wait the market out on Minor and Watson and we get one of them on a decent 2 year contract.

I’d really prefer Britton though. We may get a trade done with Oaks and one of our catchers. We want lefty ground ball pitchers as we have one of the best defensive trios on the right side in Bellinger, Forsythe and Puig.

I do not think Pederson, Alvarez or Urias are failures yet. Pederson has some value in a trade. I never thought Pederson would be a great major leaguer anyway. I would trade Joc. He has shown very little desire to change his approach to batting. If he does he could be a ok. Alvarez has not pitched at the major league level yet. If he can master his control he could be a very good bull pen piece. We will not know about Urias until 2019. It takes two years to come back from shoulder surgery. He will pitch some in 2018.

I agree Al. As you know, I already traded Joc – and Grandal – to Miami for Stanton. Or Joc to Minnesota for Ohtani money. Or either one plus a top prospect for Cole or Archer. There have been a lot of suggestions on what to do to – 1. make us better 2. keep us under $237mm 3. free up logjams in the outfield 4. make space for one of our many catching prospects.

Hi Al, my point is not that they don’t have value. It’s that as prospects their perceived upside and hype has diminished. Most top prospects become solid players, not failures. But for a contender it’s probably better to deal half your prospects, even the top ones.

What a pair of woos’s !!!! Cold weather builds character and stamina! Try tromping around on a mountain top in Korea when the wind is blowing and the wind-chill factor is minus 20! That’ll put hair on your chest!.

They could have gotten Verlander anyway. Money is not their problem. The mind set of the guys running the show is. They felt taking on Verlander and his contract was something they did not want to do. And for all practical purposes, they made the wrong choice. And remember, Verlander was not dealt at the trade deadline, he was traded just before the September 1 deadline for players to be eligible for the playoffs, and he originally blocked the trade, then decided minutes before the deadline to OK the deal. The Tigers are paying 16 million of his salary over the next 2 years so the Dodgers could have easily afforded what he is being paid. Imagine if FAZ had traded for Verlander the end of July. You think they would have had that terrible streak in August and early September? I doubt it. Verlander was rejuvenated once he came to Houston and pitched his butt off. What I think is that maybe FAZ did not want to part with 3 prospects like Houston did. I misspelled Venditte.

Bluto they could have gotten Verlander anyways with the amount of money coming off the books this year and next. Verlander’s price dropped in August and the Astros were smart to wait it out. I think we could have gotten Verlander with Alvarez.

I think the FBZ should wait out Stanton and package a trade for him with AGon, Grandal, Joc and someone like DJ Peters.

They did sign the 32 year old Pat Venidite to a minor league deal. He is the ambidextrous pitcher. Story on Yardbarker says that teams believe that Stanton is holding out for a trade to the Dodgers. Also says that there has been zero progress on that front. As for what Badger was talking about earlier, in early November it was reported that Friedman fully expected Adrian Gonzalez to be ready to play. As such, he would be the regular 1st baseman as long as his health holds up and on days he was playing 1st, Cody would be in the outfield. It gives Cody regular playing time, and he can spell Gonzo so he does not have to play everyday. At least that was the plan in early November. Things can change and most likely will. The meetings start in 12 days in Florida. I doubt any major movement takes place before that. Some fringe free agents will no doubt sign like Fister did with Texas. But the big names? I do not think much is going to happen there. If the Dodgers truly want Stanton, they will get him. Same with any of their own free agents. It boils down to what they really want to do. They have the wherewithal to do what ever they please. All the signs so far point to getting under the luxury tax. But who knows, maybe the ownership says hell with that, lets go for it now.

Badger
All Stanton has to do is say he will not play for any other team except the Dodgers and it is a done deal. Just like ARod did with the Yankees. No I am not for Vindette. If he was any good, everybody would want him.

I think that the longer it stretches out, the better the Dodgers chances, especially if Stanton says no to the deals already on the table, notably, SF and St Louis. He has stated many times he will not go to Boston or St.Louis. I think he would consider SF since it is in California. But I also think his heart is telling him he wants to come home. As for Venditte, it is the kind of signing that they make every year. Pitcher with MLB experience who they feel might be of value sometime over the course of a 162 game schedule. The other thing I read about Ohtani is that there was a thought that the Dodgers could land him because they would be willing to go to a 6 man rotation. I thought FAZ was leaning that way last year. It also explains why there are so many multipositional players on the roster. And Ohtani when he was not in the field could pinch hit. I think when the first major free agent like Hosmer or Moustakis signs, that’s when things are going to start to loosen up. There is also a report that said John Jay was close to signing with the Mariners.

Yes I agree with Michael and Badger. The longer we wait the better our chances. Teams will want to get our “last best offer” and will wait for it, because we have the most prospects that can be moved and we have the capability to absorb the most salary.

Ok gang, using the 40 man roster as it is now constructed, who would you trade? Who would you non tender? Which free agents would you sign? You are the new Dodger GM. My first move is Joc, 2 prospects and Grandal to Miami for Stanton. I non tender Fields and I trade Baez and Thompson and 1 lower lever prospect to Tampa for Archer. I resign Morrow, trade Kike Hernandez and McCarthy and Segedin to the Orioles for Zach Britton. That’s just a start….not sure any of it would fly, but it is fun to think about it.

Here is my take package. A-Gone will be with the team in spring. They will give him a chance to prove he is healthy. If he is, he will play first as long as he is healthy. They have Bellinger to spell him and play the OF. Kazmir is about as expendable as a player can be. If he is not healthy, he will undoubtedly be released and they will eat the contract. If he is healthy, I feel they will try to trade him for whatever they can get. Me, I would just release the guy and eat the money.

If I am the GM I would start with looking at the 25 man roster and figuring strengths and weaknesses as a team.

Our strengths: (1) defense, which is excellent overall, but particularly good on the right side with Bellinger, Forsythe and Puig, (2) our closer, (3) middle relief and (4) depth in MLB, (5) good drafting and talent in the minors and (6) able to absorb contracts 2019 and after.

Our weaknesses: (1) too many strikeouts, (2) lack of speed, (3) poor pitch-calling, (4) too few innings from starters leading to worn out bullpen late season, 5) roster clutter and (6) need to get under the repeater tax penalties threshold this year.

I would build on strengths and see if some of the weaknesses play themselves out. This means my priority would be (a) get more balls hit to the left side, hopefully grounders, (b) less strikeouts and (c) more speed.

So my priorities this offseason would be to land Britton, and possibly Minor or Watson. Trading Grandal (helps (b) and (c)) so this is a priority. Finding a place for AGon helps (c). Trading Joc helps (b). Trading Oaks and Font clears up clutter and could get us Britton.

These are just for starters. But my priority in the winter meetings would be Britton – we should be aggressive on him while other teams are looking at the FA relievers. And we wait out Stanton as well as the other FAs. I would also aggressively shop Grandal. He is in the last year of arbitration and a top MLB catcher – he will get us most value in a packaged deal now, as his value will likely decrease once the season starts. I would not try to hold onto Grandal and Joc for Stanton, if there is a deal out there where we can get a number 3 or 4 starter that can pitch 150-175 innings (for example, Cole Hamels), because I think wearing out our bullpen is a major risk.

MJ, you may be one of those fans, like me, who calls out the pitch sequence before the pitches are thrown.

Of course, me being who I am, I’ve impressed plenty of lasses at pubs with my pitch calling, back in the day.

These days, I’m sorry to report that I’m not nearly as successful, but neither are the pitchers and catchers. They keep throwing stuff that shouldn’t be thrown and get the crap knocked out of them. The lassies sure are not impressed, neither with me nor with the Dodgers. Lose lose.

I probably don’t watch as closely as you guys do, and that is how blatant the Dodger’s pitch calling is.

And our pitchers not being very careful with there first pitches, is so frustrating, especially after you watch a team like the Astros, hit our first pitches hard, as often as they did, in the World Series.

I don’t agree Michael. We have Kershaw, Wood and Hill. We also have McCarthy and Maeda and Buehler. I know I’m leaving out Ryu and Kazmir. I tend to think any number of these guys will be hurt for a few weeks at a time. I think we go for proven starter with pitchability and durability (which to me comes with experience) rather than focusing too much on handedness.

If you check, that is 5 lefty’s. Maeda is the only RH who made any kind of impact as a starter. McBrittle spent almost the entire year injured and was pretty ineffective when he did pitch. Buehler is a ROOKIE. He has not made one single start as a major league pitcher and he is coming off surgery and has pitched for less than a full season. Therefore I do not count the kid as a starter. McCarthy is worthless as tits on a boar hog. Excuse me, we are overloaded with lefty starters and you did not even include Urias. You have Stripling, Stewart who have made starts in the bigs, but they are both considered long men now. So I want a stud RH pitcher who can give them innings. Buehler and McCarthy come no where near filling that role.

I don’t like strikeouts either but I think they are here to stay. So are 5-6 inning starters. As are shifts. And getting power hitters to hit into the shift is what the goal is. Until they learn to beat it, it will continue to be used.

I would take Hamels. I don’t care he’s another left hander. He can get anybody out for 5 innings. And that’s all we would ask of him. I would also prefer Archer or Cole. They would cost more of course.

I would find out who the Marlins are interested in, see if they might take Grandal and give one year of salary relief (later – these guys all like to defer payments). If no relief is offered then the return from us will be lessened. I think it’s important to remember that removing the burden of that salary will allow Miami enormous freedom to rebuild. Every team they are dealing with knows that. Every team, including the Marlins, also knows that all projections show Stanton putting up ridonkulous WAR numbers for the next 5 years, easily earning what he is paid. LA is the best match. We have the money, we have the prospects and we have Stanton’s interest. We may have Miami by the short hairs. If FAZ wants this to happen it will.

I like what Michael said about the 6 man rotation and setting Ohtani in it. I think it’s a brilliant idea, yeah, partly because I’ve been saying it for two years now, but mostly because it could work for everyone on our staff. We have nobody that will get 200, but we could rotate 6 who, on that amount of rest, could push 150. Stack the bullpen with more great arms and plan to carry an extra one in the late summer.

We will be favorites to win the West again. And not because we do something big. We will be favored because we have the best team. We’ve had the best team for 5 straight years.